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Introduction

This course is designed to shift how you think about environmental sustainability in your institution — from awareness to action.

It is a practical guide for designing and implementing advocacy that leads to meaningful change. It is intended for people working in research institutions who care about the environmental impact of research and want to do something about it, but may not yet know where to start.

Advocacy is often approached as something other people do — activists, campaigners, people with formal roles. This course takes a different view. It treats advocacy as a practical skill that anyone can develop, shaped by context, relationships, evidence, and strategy.

It also recognises that advocacy rarely produces change overnight. What matters is not a single intervention, but a sustained, thoughtful effort to shift policies, practices, and culture over time.

How this course is structured

This course follows the five steps of the advocacy cycle:

  • understanding the issue and the policy landscape
  • mapping power and stakeholders
  • developing an advocacy plan
  • implementing your plan
  • evaluating progress and reflecting on your practice

Each section builds on the previous one and can also be revisited independently as your advocacy work develops.

How to use this course

You can use this course:

  • independently, working through it at your own pace
  • alongside a workshop or community of practice
  • as a working document to design or refine your own advocacy plan

Throughout the course, you will find:

  • concepts and frameworks to help you think clearly about advocacy
  • examples grounded in real research institution contexts
  • activities to apply directly to your own situation

Tip

Engage actively with the course. The activities are most valuable when applied to your own institution and cause — not treated as abstract exercises.

Approach and principles

This course is built on a set of practical principles:

  • Advocacy is contextual
    What works in one institution may not work in another. Strategy must reflect your specific environment, relationships, and constraints.

  • Advocacy is relational
    Change happens through people. Understanding who holds power, who are your allies, and how to build coalitions is as important as having the right argument.

  • Evidence matters, but so do stories
    A compelling case combines data with narrative. People are persuaded by both.

  • Start where you are
    You do not need a perfect plan or a large team to begin. Small, well-chosen actions build momentum.

  • Advocacy is iterative
    Plans evolve through use. Reflection, evaluation, and adaptation are part of the process, not signs of failure.

  • The goal is lasting change
    Tactics and campaigns come and go. The aim is to shift norms, policies, and practices in ways that outlast any individual effort.

What you will be able to do

By working through this course, you will be able to:

  • explain what advocacy is and why it matters in a research context
  • identify and analyse relevant environmental sustainability policies
  • map power and stakeholders in your own institution
  • develop a practical advocacy plan with clear goals, strategies, and tactics
  • implement your plan with confidence, adapting as you go
  • evaluate your progress and reflect on your own contribution

Info

The aim is not to turn you into a professional campaigner, but to give you the knowledge, tools, and confidence to make a real difference within your own institution.